Xandred won't win
by a19dadsgirl
Summary: my thoughts as to what might've gone on between The Master Returns and A Crack in the World...


The in betweens of "The Master's Return" and "A Crack in the World"

* * *

"Put him here, he'll be fine." Mentor Ji instructed as he watched the Rangers carry their leader in.

Jayden had been badly wounded, during the short battle with Master Xandred. Lucky for him and the others, the Master's spell wasn't strong enough to keep him in the human world for long, and he soon had to return to the Sanzu River.

Kevin led Mike, Antonio and Mia into battle, against the giant Moogers, Octoroo had sent out, while Emily took care of Jayden, who laid unconscious on her lap.

"I'll get some water." Mia spoke up, her voice shook with worry.

Emily slowly stepped forward, a small tear escaped her eyes as she watched their leader writhe in pain.

Jayden tried sitting up, at one point, but pain washed over him, his head slammed back onto the seat cushions. He couldn't hold back the screams of agony that ripped at his throat.

Ji placed a gentle hand on his students shoulder, trying to ease some of his pain, but he could see that it wasn't working.

Mia quickly rushed back in carrying a pitcher of water, a glass, and some rags.

Everyone tried giving Ji some room as he took care of Jayden. He managed to get the young man to drink some water, but the effort seemed to be too much, and Jayden lost consciousness.

"Jayden!" Kevin yelled.

"Help me get him to his room." Ji instructed.

Carefully, Mike and Antonio lifted their leader and followed their mentor down the hall into the first bedroom, then they gently laid Jayden down on the bed.

"Mentor, is there anything we can do?" Mike asked.

"Not at the moment." was the reply. "What he needs now is rest."

Everyone slowly left the room, each looking back at Ji taking care of his student. Slowly, they trudged back down the hall until they came back to the living room.

"This is bad." Antonio mumbled as he sat down. "This is _really_ bad."

"We can't think like that." Mia spoke up. "Jayden will be alright, I just know it!"

"We all _know_ that he's gonna be alright, Mia," Mike replied. "But the fact is, Master Xandred found a way into _our_ world. _Nothin_ ' we did could stop him, he even broke Jayden's sword!"

"I know that, Mike, _I_ was there too!"

"Stop arguing!" Kevin snapped. "We were all there, we all saw what happened. But the question now is, what can we do to prevent this from happening again?"

Mia looked around the room. "Hey, where's Emily?"

The guys quickly realized that their teammate was missing.

"She was just right here." Antonio said.

"Let's split up." Kevin said, then everyone went in different directions.

* * *

Mia carefully peeked into Jayden's room, she saw Ji sitting at Jayden's side, a look of worry on his face.

"Mentor?" she spoke softly.

"Mia," he answered wearingly. "Is everything alright?"

"I was just looking for Emily."

"I haven't seen her."

Mia was about to leave, when she spotted a small tear in Ji's eye. "Mentor, are you ok?"

Ji took a deep shaky breath. "I was afraid this would happen." he answered.

"What do you mean?"

"One of you getting hurt."

Curiousness crossed Mia's mind. "But Mentor, we've all been hurt before."

"Not like this; Jayden's confidence was shaken, when he went into battle. And Master Xandred has had it out for him since Jayden's father sealed him away. It's going to take some time for Jayden to fully heal from this."

Mia gently laid her hand on Ji's shoulder. "We'll all be here to help him through this, he's not alone anymore."

As if he heard her voice, Jayden lightly moaned as he turned his head away from them.

"I know he appreciates that Mia," Ji tried smiling through his heart-ache. "we both do. Thank you."

Mia just smiled. "I'd better find Emily."

As she walked out, Mia took one last look at her wounded friend, and just prayed that he would come through it alright.

* * *

"Emily?" voices could heard throughout the house. "Emily!"

Antonio checked the kitchen. Kevin; the dojo. Mia; their rooms.

Mike wandered around the halls, wondering where she could be, until he remembered. He hurried out into the court yard. Seeing how the moon lit up the practice field, he quickly spotted Emily, sitting on the bench, playing her flute.

As he slowly approached her, he listened to the sweet melody. "Em?" he whispered.

Sadness filled her eyes as she stopped playing and lowered the instrument. "How is he?" she asked.

"He's resting." Mike then sat down, next to her. "Mentor said it'll take some time, but he's tough; he'll get through this."

"Will he, Mike? Will he _really_ be ok?" tears slowly flowed down her face. "Master Xandred wasn't even at his fullest strength, and he took us down like we were nothing. Jayden's the strongest fighter here, and..."

"Hey," Mike whispered as he hugged Emily close. "We can't think like that. Xandred just caught us off guard, will be ready for him, next time."

"I sure hope so."

 _"Of course we will."_ A voice spoke up.

Mike and Emily turned to see their friends standing nearby.

"We're Samurai," Kevin added. "We never give up."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So, what do we do now?" Antonio asked.

Mia turned around, picked up a practice sword, then handed it to Kevin.

"We train," he said proudly. "and we make _sure_ we're ready for the next time."

* * *

As the night passed, Ji never left Jayden's side. As he watched his young student sleep, he couldn't help but feel some responsibility for what happened.

 _"I promised your father I would protect you, I feel I have failed him... and you."_ Ji sighed as he ran a shaky hand across his tired and worried face. _"I had hoped that, if Xandred ever returned, we would be ready. But now, I feel that time is running out... for everyone."_

Ji's thoughts were suddenly interrupted, he looked up to see Jayden shift in pain. He quickly reached for glass of water, then placed himself at Jayden's side.

"Jayden?" he whispered.

The young man turned his head towards the familiar voice, he struggled to open his eyes. "M-Mentor?" his voice whispered.

"I'm right here." Ji then gently lifted Jayden's head so he could take a drink.

"Thank you." he then saw the worry written across his Mentor's face. "What's wrong Ji?"

"I feel that I have failed... both you _and_ your father."

Jayden's brow furrowed as he tried to understand. "Wha-what do you mean?"

"I promised your father that I would take care of you. I feel I have not kept my word."

Jayden struggled to sit up, the pain his body felt was awful, but the pain in his heart was worse. "Ji," he struggled to speak. "You have trained me, all my life. You've helped me to stand strong when I fall. You have cared for me when I was ill. This time is no different. If anyone has failed, it's me."

Ji looked into his young friends eyes and saw exactly what he thought; pain, regret, failure. "You failed at nothing, Jayden."

"That's where you're wrong Ji. I failed, I wasn't ready for battle, let alone going against Master Xandred. I was beaten, I put my team in danger. What kind of a leader does that make me?"

"Your failures aren't what make you a leader, Jayden, they're what makes you human. The fact that you've trained this team to take charge, when you're unable, is what makes you the leader. Many leaders, before you, have been in this same position... Including your father."

Jayden looked up at his friend, in slight surprise. _"My father?"_ he thought, then suddenly, his arms gave out, and he fell back on the bed.

"Jayden!" Ji was careful as he tried making his young student comfortable. "You're still too weak. Rest, we'll talk more tomorrow."

Slowly, he hunkered back under the covers. As he watched Mentor leave the room, feelings of regret and failure kept swirling around Jayden's mind.

 _"My father never failed,"_ he thought. _"_ he _fought till the end, and managed to seal Xandred away. I couldn't even think about stopping him, he took me out so quickly, I didn't have time to react. I'm not the Red Ranger my father wanted me to be, I'm not worthy of being their leader."_

* * *

Slowly, Ji walked down the hall, towards the front room.

 _"I was afraid this would happen."_ He thought to himself. _"Being defeated has shaken his confidence. It's going to take more than rest to heal those wounds."_

As he approached the living room, he noticed that the others weren't there.

"Where could they be?" he whispered.

Suddenly he heard something; the sounds of swords clashing and battle grunts, coming from the courtyard.

He quickly made his way to the door, and smiled at what he saw; Kevin, Mike, Antonio, Mia and Emily training in new sword techniques, symbol powers and attack plans.

 _"If only Jayden could see this,"_ he thought again. _"it might help regain his strength and confidence. But I fear that time will be his only friend, at this point."_

He then turned and left the team alone.

* * *

The next morning, Ji walked from the kitchen, carrying a tray with eggs, bacon and orange juice, as he walked down the hall he noticed that Emily and Mia were sound asleep on the chair cushions.

He then turned and saw the boys passed out on the dojo floor.

"Oh my." he whispered.

 _"Mentor?"_ a tired voice spoke up.

He turned to see Mia waking up.

"Good morning Mia." He greeted.

"How's Jayden?" she asked.

"He's resting. I was just bringing him some breakfast. There's plenty more, in the kitchen." he then walked on.

Mia stared in concern, when her thoughts were interrupted.

 _"Did I hear someone say 'Breakfast'?"_ Mike's voice spoke up.

Slowly, everyone began waking up.

"Mia?" Emily questioned as she stood up. "Is everything ok?"

"I sure hope so." was all she said.

* * *

 _"Jayden? Are you awake?"_ Ji's voice spoke sweetly through the door, but there was no answer. _"Jayden?"_

Slowly, he opened the door, but Jayden wasn't there.

"Where could he be?"

Ji set down the food tray, and headed towards the back yard, but Jayden wasn't there.

He looked around, but couldn't see any sign of where he might have gone.

"Rangers!" he hurried back to the kitchen.

Everyone was gathered around the small table, enjoying their breakfast, when Ji rushed in.

"Mentor?" Mike spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "What's wrong?"

"Is Jayden alright?" Emily asked.

"I'm afraid not, Emily... He's gone."

"Gone?" Mia repeated. "Gone where?"

"I'm not sure, Mia. I can't seem to find any trace of him."

"He shouldn't be out there in his condition." Kevin quickly added. "We need to find him!"

"Let's go!" Antonio commanded.

And they were off.

* * *

Jayden struggled to maintain his composure as he stumbled through the woods.

 _"I gotta keep going."_ He thought to himself. _"My leaving the team might be the only way to save my friends. Xandred will come after me, and maybe I can weaken him again... just until... until..."_

Suddenly, he collapsed to his knees. The effort was too much in his weakened state.

 _"Can't... stop... now."_ he grunted as he tried to get back to his feet.

Suddenly, he heard a girl scream, _"Monster!"_

He looked up to see a large group of people, screaming and running for their lives... and Moogers following close behind.

Jayden took a deep breath, then, with one final press of energy, jumped to his feet and hurried after his enemy.

He quickly came between the Moogers and the civilians.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Why not take me on?"

The Moogers turned their attention towards him, then charged.

Jayden was able to form his sword, so he'd have a better chance. His weakened condition made it difficult to keep the upper hand, but he managed to hold his own for a while.

Then suddenly, a blast hit him, he went flying and landed hard on the gravel.

As he tried to gather hit wits, he heard a familiar, haunting cackle. He looked up to see Serrator slowly approaching him.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The Nighlock taunted. "I would've thought you'd have learned your lesson, after that beating you took from the Master."

Jayden tried hard to keep his strength up, but it was slowly slipping away.

"Ah well," Serrator continued. "I would say 'better luck next time', but for you, there won't be one."

Fear filled the Red Rangers eye as he saw his enemy aiming for his final strike. As Serrator's blast neared Jayden, something blocked it.

"What?!" the Nighlock sneered.

Jayden looked over to see a small Bear blocking the attack, then retreating to the woods.

Suddenly, the team all emerged.

"JAYDEN!" they all yelled as they hurried into battle.

With the last ounce of his strength, Jayden managed a symbol strike, against Serrator, to give his team the edge... Then passed out.

* * *

As the team rushed forward, Serrator recovered, then chuckled.

"Fools! Your leader can't even stay on his feet, and you honestly think you can take me on?"

"We will if we have to!" Mike yelled as the group came to a stop.

"You're not worth my time, I have bigger fish to fry. Moogers, take care of them."

As the Nighlock disappeared into a crack, the red mindless monster emerged.

"We can't leave Jayden." Mia reminded her friends.

"Right," Kevin agreed. "Let's make this quick."

Everyone summoned their spin swords, and with one Quintuple slash, the Moogers were obliterated.

The team took a quick moment to catch their breath, then turned their attention to their leader.

"Jayden!" Emily cried as she carefully helped turn him over.

Antonio leaned down and checked his friends breathing. "He's only passed out." he said.

"Let's get him home." Mike suggested, then pulled out his phone and called Mentor to send a car.

* * *

A few hours later, Jayden came to. His eyes looked around the room, trying to remember where he was, how he got there, when they finally came to rest on Kevin, writing something in his sketch book.

"Kevin?" his voice was rough and almost gone.

"Jayden!" Kevin said excitedly, then he jumped up and hurried to the hall. "Everyone! Jayden's awake!"

Quickly, the room was filled with his worrying friends, as he slowly sat up. Most wore smiles, but Mike just scowled as he stood towards the back.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Emily asked in a caring tone.

Jayden just nodded his head, with a small smile across his face.

"You must be hungry, how about I fix you something to eat?" Mia offered.

Everyone froze at the thought of what kind of food Mia would concoct.

"Uh, Mia..." Ji quickly spoke up. "I already put together a stew, but perhaps you'd like to help me fix some tea."

"Ok." she agreed, with a happy smile, then she and Mentor left the room.

Antonio quickly saw the troubled look on his best friend's face. "Jayden? You feeling alright?"

Jayden quickly smiled, "Yes," he lied. "I'm sorry for taking off, like that."

"It's alright Jayden." Emily spoke calmly. "We all understand."

Jayden just nodded some more, trying to hide the true feelings in his heart.

"Why don't we let you rest some more." Kevin suggested. "We can talk tomorrow."

Slowly, Emily, Antonio and Kevin left the room, but Mike held back.

"Is... everything alright, Mike?" Jayden said, not looking at his friend, for he feared that he already knew the answer.

"Why?" was all he said.

Jayden finally looked up him. "Why what?"

"Don't do that, you know what. You do this every time something bad happens. You go all 'lone wolf' on us, and we're left wondering if you're really ok. I'm tired of it, and I want to know why."

"It's... it's complicated."

"I've got nowhere to be." Mike then took the empty seat, and made himself comfortable. "Start talking."

Jayden took a deep breath, then tried figuring out a way for Mike to understand, without making him look weak, but... "I failed." he said simply.

"What?" Mike looked sincerely confused.

"I failed." the leader repeated. "I have done nothing but trained for the day I became Red Ranger, for the time I was to battle Master Xandred, and when that time came... I failed."

"Jayden, Master Xandred caught us all off guard _._ After what you had already been through, you couldn't have been ready for his sudden appearance."

"But I was suppose to be!" Jayden snapped.

"So you're beatin' yourself up because you failed once?"

"It's not just once, Mike. I've failed you... and the others, too many times, and I just..."

"You gave up." Mike finished. "A couple fights didn't go like you planned, so you gave up." he then got up and started pacing. "What happened to all that 'Samurai Forever' and 'Never Give Up' that's I've been hearing, all this time? Was that just a whole bunch of lies? Tell me Jayden, do we _really_ have a chance to win? Cuz if you're giving up, then maybe I should just go pack my bags right now."

"No!" Jayden tried to voice with authority, but his fears kept it at bay.

"Why not?" Mike kept jabbing. "My leader's quitting, why shouldn't I?"

"NO!" Jayden lept out of bed, grabbed Mike and the two started wrestling.

In his weakened state, Jayden was no match for Mike, and he was quickly pinned.

"Now," Mike said, trying to catch his breath. "You wouldn't let me give up, why are you?"

Jayden thought for a moment. "I was afraid Deker was right, that I lost my edge. And after losing to Xandred... I..."

"You thought _we'd_ see you as a weakling?" Mike suddenly realized, then he finally stood up and helped Jayden to his feet. "Jayden, you're our leader, but more than that, you're our friend. And friends never abandon friends."

Jayden looked down in slight shame.

 _"Mike's right, Jayden."_ Antonio's voice spoke from behind.

The two young men turned to see their friends standing in the doorway, apparently brought back by the sounds of their arguing.

"They're both right," Kevin added. "Jayden, we're Rangers Together."

"And that means," Mia jumped in. "we're in this together."

"Forever." Emily said happily.

As the friends made a circle, a sincere smile formed across the Red Ranger's face. "Thanks guy. I promise, from now on, I won't run off when things get too tough. We'll be ready for when the danger returns, and next time... Xandred _won't_ win."


End file.
